Back of My Head
by CourtRose
Summary: Edward will be alone again these holidays. Unless a fellow bus passenger can help him see the good in Christmas. Written for Demosthenes91 in the Twilight Gift Exchange Winter 2010.


**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

~*~

**England, 21st of December.**

~*~

The exhausted sigh of the bus pulling up to the curb signalled the start of another day for Edward Cullen. He rose slowly from his perch at the bus stop and joined the other commuters boarding the bus. Thoughtfully, some young teenager had tagged the forlorn-looking shelter with a Christmas theme, complete with a scantily clad Santa's helper looking seductively upon a sleazy Santa.

Edward sighed. It wasn't as if he needed any reminder that he was alone this Christmas.

He slid his briefcase into the first empty seat and folded his gangly body in after it, squashing up against the window and glancing out the window. All the houses were lit festively, except for one.

_The _one. In the 10 years that Edward had made his daily commute from Glastonbury Road to the offices of BMP Insurance, Inc. he had never noticed the goings of another of the houses except for No. 15. He had made cursory glances as the others flashed by, but they had never held anything to capture his interest like No. 15. He had first seen it on his first day on the bus. It had a vintage attraction, the decor and classic aura about it had captivated him every morning and night. From what he gathered, an old couple lived there and did not get out much – that had not changed for 10 years.

Until a month ago.

When Edward had first noticed the For Sale sign in the neatly manicured front garden of No. 15 Glastonbury Road, located just across from the bus shelter, the thought had briefly occurred to him that he could buy it. But he quickly quashed that notion. No. 15 was a quaint establishment that housed four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a reasonably sized outdoor area for entertaining friends. Edward was alone, unattached, and mixed in small circles that included other recluses like himself.

He gave No. 15 a lingering glance as he passed it on his way to and from the bus shelter every day, but reminded himself every time of the impracticality of buying such a place. The apartment he rented now was perfectly adequate - poky, but adequate. It suited him just fine and had done so ever since he moved out of his parent's home after college.

But, he couldn't help but wonder.

Sometimes he dreamed about living in No. 15 and hosting grand parties, with fine wine and finger food, intelligent discussion, contemporary music and a selection of loyal friends with whom he would tell anecdotes and celebrate holidays late into the night.

Of course, his dreams would not be complete without the gracious hostess; his adoring wife. She was beautiful and kind, caring but with a feisty spirit that would infuse their lives with passion. However, she was never quite visible, always on his periphery or just out of reach. He could hear her laugh – and what a glorious one it was – but couldn't hear what she was saying. Sometimes, he caught a glimpse of her hair; long, luscious locks, sometimes brown and sometimes silvery blond. But, most often brown. A simple sienna that shone with gold and reddish-brown highlights under the soft lighting of their living room.

But today, as the bus doors wheezed closed, Edward noticed something different about No. 15.

The For Sale sign was missing. The sudden clenching around his heart startled him; it was as if he had lost something important to him. A large white truck pulled into the short driveway of No. 15 and Edward's lips tightened compulsively. _This is absurd_, he thought, _I am jealous over something I never had_.

He forcefully turned away from the window, trying to ignore any thoughts of No. 15 that floated into his head.

~*~

Much later that same day, Edward found himself peering nervously out the window as the bus travelled down Glastonbury Road. He was looking for No. 15. Despite his best attempts, his dreams of No. 15 had flitted and flashed through his thoughts all day, enticing him with all the things he could have had.

As the bus pulled up in front of his stop and he stumbled down the grotty steps, he waited – something he never did – until the bus drove away.

No. 15 was brightly lit in the living room, the kitchen and the upstairs rooms. Edward squinted at the windows from across the street, looking for any signs of life or family inside the house.

However, it was difficult to make out anything other than the bright lights and shadows cast around the room through the window. He considered going across the street. He could stand right outside the picket fence and clearly see everything and everyone inside.

He took a step towards the curb.

_No_, he thought to himself. _This is absurd! Am I really about to become some no good Peeping Tom in some poor family's window? _He shook his head and wondered at his own ridiculousness.

Quickly, he stepped away and hurried home.

~*~

The next morning, Edward sat down at his usual spot on the bus seat and pulled out his copy of iA Midsummer's Night Dreami. He loved the classics and was slowly making his way through them all on his daily commutes. He adored Shakespeare and the poet, Ovid, but he also had a secret biding for the romances, like _Wuthering Heights_ and _Emma_.

"_Two lovely berries moulded on one stem; So, with two seeming bodies, but one 's a great play_."

Edward was interrupted from his reading reverie by a female voice, who quoted _A Midsummer's Night Dream_ to him before joining him on the bus seat.

He looked up in surprise and into the face of an angel.

Her long brown hair was swept back into a loose side ponytail, loose, short strands framing her face. She had the features of a native Englishwoman; pale, white skin with dark, shadowed eyes. Her adorable button nose was covered in a smattering of light brown freckles that stretched across her faintly flushed pink cheeks.

"Uh," he began before he had to swallow the lump in his throat. "Yeah, it is. Great. I've only just started."

She smiled at him, sending his heart aflutter and a nervous feeling in his stomach erupted.

"I'm Bella," she said, sticking out her hand. "From No. 15, across the road."

Edward tried, and failed, in his attempt not to gape.

Well, it was fitting really. Someone so beautiful should live in a place like No. 15. They matched each other well.

Quickly recovering from his interlude, Edward reached out to shake her hand and they shared a small smile.

"I'm Edward," he tried to say but at that very moment the bus pulled up; the sound of the exhaust louder than the volume of his voice.

He flushed with chagrin as he repeated his name and they joined the other passengers lining up to board the bus. His red tinge continued as she sat herself down next to him on the cramped seat and began chattering to him about the weather.

He answered her questions about his work, apartment and goldfish, Luke, with an almost whisper whereas her questions and anecdotes were told at a boisterous tone that attracted the notice of the regulars Edward knew only by appearance.

"Don't you think Christmas is simply the most wonderful time of the year?" she asked happily.

Edward looked out of the window and mumbled bitterly, "For some."

Bella looked at him, surprise crossing her pretty features.

"Don't you like Christmas?"

"What's to like about it?" he retorted.

"What's to like about it?" Bella repeated. "What's not to like about it? People doing good, celebrating goodness and passing on goods to demonstrate their love. The Christmas spirit alive all around us. Don't tell me you don't feel it! It's just so good and pure," she finished with a delighted sigh.

"What is good about the commercialization of the most important religious holiday in the Christian faith? What is good about the greediness and the gluttony? What is good about the reminder that everyone else has a family to go home to, and you don't?" He stopped abruptly. He had not meant to be so forthcoming about his own Christmas angst.

Now Bella looked at him with sympathy, and he felt all the more disgusted in himself for being alone. It was not his fault he was so. It was not his choice, nor his want to be so. It was the predicament he had found himself in after his previous girlfriend, Olivia, dumped him the day before they graduated university; a week before Christmas. He realized soon after that he would be spending his first holiday alone. While he knew Carlisle and Esme would have been happy to cancel their plans to visit the Bermuda Triangle, he would rather bear a day of solitude than spend the day as a third wheel in his adopted parents' various love trysts.

Subsequent Christmases were spent similarly, with a large bottle of fine whisky and his goldfish, Luke for company. Each year, Edward found new reasons to detest the holiday.

For some unknown reason, subconsciously, his brain refused to lie to Bella about the true events regarding his deep set prejudice against all things Christmas.

So he told her and her sympathetic worry lines deepened, and while he felt better for unburdening his mind, he struggled to bottle the dark feelings that he rarely thought about, in order to keep them at bay.

He turned the conversation back onto Bella; watching the enigmatic way she described her friends and family with varied adjectives and lively hand gestures.

She was bursting with youthful delight that he envied to the depths of his soul. But like a moth to candlelight, he was drawn to her aura of pureness and it was good. She was a goodness that he had never encountered before, nor felt.

When the bus wheezed to a halt at the stop before Edward's and Bella – her name sounded so beautiful in his head – picked up her satchel and gave him a reluctant smile, Edward couldn't help but feel a little dismayed that their journey together was over.

"Will I see you tonight?" she asked him.

Edward's heart jumped and stuttered as she smiled at him hopefully. "I guess," he said, nodding. "I'll be on the 6 o'clock."

A queue of passengers looking to disembark was forming behind Bella. One cleared his throat loudly.

"Great," she said with another brilliant smile. "Me too!"

In the gloomy, dingy bus filled with grumpy looking business workers and tired, harassed mothers returning home from the night shift at their second job, Bella was a ray of light. She was warm and colourful; she was cheerful and happy. It was as if she was impervious to the negative, the horrible that surrounded them.

During their short time together, she had generously extended her bubble of joy to include Edward, who, for the first time, had not noticed the shady looking teenagers who loitered on street corners and the homeless man bundled up in rags. No, thanks to Bella, he had experienced the bus ride in a new light. He had seen the smiling family carrying a Christmas tree into their house and the carollers strolling along the street laughing with one another. For a brief moment, Bella had helped him see clearly.

But, now she was gone.

Slowly, the shadows began to creep back into his vision. He noticed the bus driver's ugly grimace as he hopped off the bus and the wet slush that muddied his shoes as he worked the short distance to work.

Sighing and squeezing his eyes as tight as he could against the sight of these things, he tried to hold on to his thoughts of Bella and her light.

~*~

Edward's work day dragged on like it never had before. The computer took longer to process his clicks. His co-workers took longer to answer when he asked them questions and then stared at him as if he was speaking a different language. Even the faithful coffee machine overdosed the milk in his mid-afternoon pick-me-up.

But the bubble of anticipation in his stomach increased as the clock inched towards knock-off at 5:30pm.

Edward started to envisage the things they could talk about. How he wouldn't stutter over his words and mumble responses. He would be witty and charming while voicing his benevolent opinions on global issues, he told himself.

He would entice her to see the real him that existed under the layers of shyness and low self-confidence.

When the minute hand finally flickered over the six, Edward gathered his possessions and exited the mass of workstations and blinking computer screens at an almost run. He was the first of the regulars to arrive at the bus stop but he was too nervous and excited to sit while he waited.

He spotted the decrepit machine chugging up the hill to his spot and danced anxiously around the curb as he waited for it to pull up.

The other regulars stared at him strangely but he didn't care.

He was calculating the minutes it would take for the bus to reach him and then wheel itself towards Bella's stop. _Bella_. Bella. Bella. Bella.

He let her name flow through his mind like a musical note.

Once he was inside the bus, and after carefully choosing the same seat they had sat on that morning, he was even antsier as the bus seemed to inch towards Bella's stop at the slowest of snail-like speeds.

But it was all worth it when he saw her beautiful, rosy face peer down the rows at him, first with curiosity and speculation but then with happiness as she spotted him.

His cheek muscles stretched to encompass the smile that graced his face at the sight of her. He didn't, couldn't, comprehend his own reactions but suddenly everything felt right. As if she was a significant missing piece in a fairly broken and unfinished puzzle.

"Hey you," she said happily, as she sat down beside him.

"Hello Bella," he replied, the uncontrollable grin still etched on his face. His stomach turned and his heart flip-flopped as he said his name. He wouldn't have controlled himself, even if he could.

"How was your day?" she asked, the inklings of a grin to match his own dancing around her lips.

"Long," he replied honestly. She nodded in agreement, a sincere look becoming her eyes.

"Where do you work?" he asked curiously after a pause.

"I own Treble Music, the music store in town. Do you know it?" she said.

Edward shook his head. "Do you play?"

She stuck her fingers out in front of him. They were worn around the tips and her cuticles were smaller than what Edward thought normal. "Guitar," she said, "and bit of piano. I sing too," she added.

Edward's mind went into a blissful overdrive. She really was an angel.

"I would love to hear you sometime," he said in an almost whisper.

She blushed a bright red across the apples of her cheek, contrasting sharply with her pale white skin in the cold. Then she nodded minutely in reply.

When the bus stopped at their stop, it was dark outside and the first hints of snow were falling. Edward and Bella emerged into the chilly cold and wrapped their coats and scarves tightly around themselves before the conversation reached its awkward pre-goodbye pause.

"Edward."

"Bella."

They paused again; looking, trying to gauge the other's reaction.

"I should probably go...," Edward said to break the silence. He mentally kicked himself. Going was the last thing that he wanted to be doing.

Bella said nothing in reply.

He waited a few seconds before taking a step in the direction of home. And another. And another.

"Edward! Wait," he heard Bella's voice call out to him through the wind. She jogged several steps towards him.

"Would you...," she began. "Do you want to come in for a drink?" she asked, gesturing vaguely back at No. 15 across the street.

Edward looked at her hopeful smile and nervous eyes, fearful of rejection and knew that his answer had been 'yes' long before she needed to ask.

~*~

"So, this is home," Bella said as she unlocked her thick, wooden front door.

Edward had been holding his breath as they walked up the quaint paving stone path towards No. 15. Despite his new found friend, and feelings, in Bella, he remembered acutely what he had been yearning for prior to her arrival.

It was as close as he had ever been to the house and his eyes drank in every detail of No. 15's beauty. The creeping ivy that had made its way up the brick wall of the front of the house. The well-rounded greenery with bursts of colourful flowers that had managed to withhold the winter. The wrought iron knocker in the shape of a lion's head.

As he finally stepped across the threshold, he exhaled and smiled. It felt just like home.

Edward followed Bella down her hall, watching as she switched the overhead lights on to create a warm, yellow glow about the wall-hangings and ornaments that were featured along the walkway. He stopped at the entrance of her living area.

It was everything of his dreams and more.

The wooden floorboards were bright and reflected the artificial light emitting from the bulb hanging inside a large colourful lightshade from the unusually high ceiling. Closest to the entrance where he stood, Edward looked into the country style kitchen. Bella had removed a bottle of wine from the wine rack that hung above the large stone preparation island and was struggling to pop it open with a silver corkscrew.

Beyond the kitchen was a spacious lounge room. A couch set was arranged around an entertainment unit containing a flat screen and sound system. There were eclectic paintings on the wall and an Afghan rug lay casually over the back of the three-seater plush leather couch.

In the corner was a brightly decorated Christmas tree. Now that he noticed it, there were Christmas decorations hanging in various places around the living area. They were bright and colourful, not religious but definitely supporting the holiday. It was such a contrast to Edward's apartment, which had a tattered, second-hand plastic Christmas tree with its sparse ornaments and baubles. He had no care for any of the hype surrounding Christmas.

Edward took a step forward. To the left he could now see a dining table next to several large bay windows that would open up onto the alfresco area that was currently covered in the first frost of snow.

"Wine?" said Bella from behind him and Edward started as he snapped out of his observations. She was offering him a generous glass of red wine. It was obvious she had already taken a sip from her own glass; her bottom lip was slightly stained the purplish-red colour of the wine.

He took it and raised it toward her in thanks. "Your house is beautiful."

"Thank you," she replied. "As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it."

Edward's heart panged. He had felt the same way about No. 15; he just didn't have the balls to do anything about it.

They sat down on the large couch together; on opposite ends. Edward had lost all bravado he might have managed to stir up during his work day. Bella had also quieted; sipping her drink, looking absentmindedly in front of her. Edward allowed his eyes to roam over her lounge more closely. Various remotes were strewn across the coffee table, as well as a thick book that was opened on a full page picture of Jupiter. He flicked forward another few pages to a picture of a constellation.

"Orion," he murmured.

Bella turned and looked at him in surprise. "You know constellations?"

Edward nodded. He flicked to another page. "Gemini?"

Bella smiled. "It's my favourite."

He looked at her and wondered where her interests in the stars had stemmed from. He had definitely not picked her for an astronomer.

She blushed under his curious stare, anticipating his question. "My dad was a bit of a space junkie. He loved the idea of 'life out there' and was really into stars, planets and everything like that. I guess I got a little hooked in too."

Edward nodded, impressed. He had always had a cursory interest in outer space. He stood up to exam the model planets accurately arranged along the front of her TV cabinet.

He crouched down and her DVD collection caught his eye. Stacked neatly in a glass cabinet under her TV, there was a wide assortment of movies and TV show box sets. He scanned past several romantic comedies, the entire series of Weeds and nearly gasped aloud when he spotted her Sci-Fi collection. Battlestar Galactica, the Star Wars movies, the Matrix, the Terminator movies, Star Trek – she had it all. He looked reverently at her well-endowed collection and sighed. Bella really was nothing short of perfect.

"I guess the geek's out of the bag."

Edward spun on his heels to find Bella looking down sheepishly at him. She had spoken wryly but her eyes featured the same look of fear of rejection he had spotted earlier.

But she would hear no denunciation from him.

For Edward had a smaller, similar collection at home and considered himself to be a walking, talking reference on all things Sci-Fi. Admittedly, it was a secret, but it was his passion.

Bella was still looking at him through her curled brown lashes, waiting for him to say something.

Standing up, he looked straight back at her. He paused for a moment and watched her eyes flicker as she tried to read his expression.

"Live long and prosper," he whispered.

He had just enough time to see her eyes widen in surprise and then crinkle with a smile before he leant forward and touched his lips to hers. She pulled her lips together and then pushed against his, kissing him back.

_So this is what it is like to kiss an angel_, he thought to himself as he tilted his head and kissed her full, wine-stained lips. He could still taste it on her, delicious with a sweet tang of flavour. She was kissing him just as fervently as he dared to kiss her. Their breathing was becoming irregular and their kisses more urgent.

He didn't dare move his lips anywhere but her own, for fear of crossing a line.

"Edward," Bella breathed. He opened his eyes and looked into hers. There was no fear of rejection or apprehension now. There was only the light from bus ride and strength. She was looking at him with a conviction that assured him that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He was smiled tentatively at her and she nodded, her determination shining through her chocolate brown eyes.

Confidence restored, Edward dropped his head down to meet her lips. He kissed her to communicate his passion, his faith in her and his need for _them_. She matched his depth and his intensity. _Right back 'atcha_, she told him.

He slowly reached up to gently cup the back of her head with his hands, intertwining his fingers in her loose brown locks. She stood up on the balls of her feet to reach him better. He gripped her head closer with the hair between his fingers and she growled softly into his mouth.

She placed her hands on his clothed stomach and began reaching around his sides. She pulled his shirt tails out of his pants and slid her hands under his business shirt to his skin. He was momentarily startled as he wondered if she could feel the searing heat that was bubbling underneath his skin, ignited by the mere presence of her.

But then he decided he didn't care. He wanted her to know what she did to him, how she made him feel, how she turned him on.

Edward took a half step forward so his body was flush against hers. He could feel his erection pressing against her abdomen. If she was surprised by his movement, she didn't show it. If anything, she pulled his hips closer.

She slid her hands from underneath his shirt and focussed their attention on undoing it. As Bella worked she trailed her fingers along his chest, brushing across his nipples as she pushed his shirt open. He knew she felt his body's response both as goose bumps rose across his chest and as his cock pressed incessantly against her.

He became more urgent, removing his lips from hers and began kissing down her neck to her collarbone. He nipped at the freshly exposed skin, eliciting a matching set of goose bumps across Bella's skin.

She moaned as he kissed and sucked at the hollow of her throat. "I need you, now," she whispered hoarsely; her desire obvious.

As he failed to take action, Bella took matters into her own hands. Grabbing the sides of his shirt she walked them back to her large couch. He was still making love to her neck, but she needed something stronger.

Taking his face between her hands, she directed his lips to hers. She assaulted them with a blazing passion, hopefully communicating to him what she wanted.

He released her hair and skimmed his hands down her sides before resting them gently on her waist.

Still, she was impatient.

She turned them around so Edward's back was against the couch. Pulling her lips away and smirking she pushed him down so that he was seated. His bemused expression made her laugh as she straddled his lap.

Now it was her who lowered her lips to his and kissed him. She kissed along his jaw line, the light shadow of stubble forming and up to his ear, which she nibbled on and he moaned.

"Show me," she whispered into his ear. She didn't need to explain as a confidence took over Edward.

His hands slipped underneath her sweater and gripped and hem, before pulling it up over her head. Bella smiled happily; he understood. She attempted to push his shirt from his back, but struggled as Edward was trying to get remove her singlet at the same time.

They laughed, unable to stop for any awkwardness or thought processing. Edward sat forward to give her a chaste kiss with smiling lips. Bella raised her hands above her head and allowed Edward to take off her singlet before she removed his shirt and tossed it carelessly to the floor.

She ran her fingers down his chest and leaned forward to kiss him. The humorous moment forgotten, their kisses intensified and Bella reached down to unbuckle Edward's belt and pants. He moved with fervour to unzip her skirt. He could not remove it from her spread-eagled legs over his lap so scooped her up in his arms and placed her back on the couch without breaking contact with her delectable lips.

He raised himself above her as she pushed his pants off. She disliked his fear of crushing her; it was nonsensical. She linked her hands around his neck and pulled him all the way down to her.

They quickly shed their remaining undergarments with fervour. Edward marvelled momentarily at the sight of her breasts before him, for him, before trailing a line of kisses down to her left nipple. He took it into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the nub before sucking gently on its length. Placing his hand on her right mound, Edward massaged her soft flesh. Letting go with his mouth, he blew on her nipple, smiling at the instant gratification of its pebbling. Paying equal attention to her opposite peak, he soon had her moaning with pleasure.

"Edward," she hissed as she extended her hand around his shaft. He groaned trailed kisses back up her neck.

As she rubbed him, increasing pace and her grip, she brought him tantalizingly close to orgasm but as he ghosted his hand toward the apex of her thighs and caressed her skin there, she froze and bucked her hips up towards him.

Her mouth formed a perfectly shaped 'O' as he pushed two fingers inside her tentatively. She was drenched with arousal – arousal that had been his doing. His confidence soared and he could practically feel his testosterone coating the air. He was relatively inexperienced with the female body, but with Bella, he felt confident to try things he had only read about in Luke and Mara fanfiction. Curling his fingers slowly, he gauged Bella's reaction. She emitted a small gasp of air, so he did it again. Each time she raised her hips, looking for greater friction and let out a sigh of pleasure.

With the pad of his thumb he found her clitoris and pressed down gently. After realizing that Bella also appreciated this action he pressed down harder and rubbed. Bella let out a loud moan that went straight to his unbridled cock. He stroked it, remembering exactly how it felt when Bella's smaller hands had nearly caused his undoing. He was distracted from his masturbation as she waved her arm around, searching, until she found the back of his head and pushed it down towards her clit. Forgetting all about his unsatisfied cock, he placed a kiss either side of where he could tell she wanted it most until she let out a whimper that he could not resist.

First, he licked up a trail of her arousal that had escaped her entrance. It tasted heavenly; fresh but heavy with Bella's scent and desire. Slowly, he poked his tongue inside her and licked up towards her clit. She let out a very satisfied moan and he continued his finger ministrations. As he swirled his tongue around her sensitive bud, he felt a slight tensing around his fingers and upon her gasp of, "Edward, I'm about to...," he ran his teeth lightly over her clit.

He kissed along her entrance as she rode out her orgasm and watched her closely in amazement as she raised her head slowly to look at him again. Her hair was rumpled and her makeup had been smudged by sweat and her movements, but she had never looked more beautiful. He could not take his eyes off her as he thought in amazement that it was him who had done that to her. Again, the thought aroused his cock causing it to bob against Bella's leg. She looked at him with amusement.

"Looks like we've got someone else to take care of," she said coyly, a devious look becoming her eyes.

She sat up from her spot on the couch and pulled him into the same seated position as earlier. Straddling him again, she met his gaze and lowered herself onto his erection. Edward supported her hips as his head slowly entered her followed by the rest of his shaft. He tossed his head back in exultation as the feeling of being encompassed by Bella's tight walls overcame him. He struggled to control himself and resist the impulse to cum immediately.

Bella had mirrored his look, rolling her eyes back as she enjoyed the feeling of being filled. As she took in Edward's face she pressed up, raising herself off his cock slowly before lowering herself back down.

He groaned in pleasure. "Bella. I need you..."

Smiling cheekily, she repeated and watched as his face transformed with ecstasy and bliss as she brought him closer to an orgasm, for the second time. This time, however, they would come together in the throes of ecstasy.

As she increased her pace, Bella felt her own arousal building; the need tightening in her stomach. She directed Edward's hands to her hips to support her as she wrapped her legs around his waist and cried out loudly as the new position allowed him greater access to her.

"Bella," Edward moaned in response to her movement. "I'm coming..."

With the beginning of Edward's orgasm – his seed spilling inside her – Bella let go and allowed the thrill of her orgasm overcome her. She felt Edward's arms wrap around her and she placed her hands on either side of his head, rested her forehead there.

He whispered her name and she said his with a sigh. They held each other as they rode through the aftershocks of their simultaneous orgasms.

Bella lifted Edward's face to her own and kissed him long and ardently.

Finally, Edward lifted Bella from his lap and tucked her into his side as they lay down on the couch, spooning. He pulled the Afghan from the back of the couch and wrapped it around them before nuzzling his face in Bella's hair and listened quietly to her breath as she dropped off to sleep.

~*~

The following morning, after reluctantly rising from their snuggling, Edward and Bella ate a quick breakfast. Bella caught him staying a constant, cautious three feet from her so she captured him in a passionate kiss against the kitchen bench that set both their pulses' alight.

"We should get dressed," she said as they caught their breath. Edward nodded, his confidence restored.

He dressed in yesterday's clothes, straightening his shirt and tie out as best as he could. He hoped no one would notice he was wearing the same thing on their last day of work for the holidays. Without Bella, he imagined that he would be unable to maintain his confidence and any attention he received would be met with a red face and nervous mutterings.

When Bella emerged, dressed in a form-fitting purple dress, Edward had to adjust himself as he took in her beauty. They dressed in their coats and scarves by the door in silence.

"Can I see you tonight?" Edward blurted out.

Bella laughed her beautiful laugh and nodded before taking his hand as they stepped outside of her house. She locked up behind them and they walked together, to the bus stop. The few regulars, who had arrived before them, looked on curiously as they took up a spot beside the bus stop. Bella gave Edward a kiss on his nose and they smiled at each other as they revelled in their secret.

When the bus arrived, Edward gave a start to see a shiny new bus instead of their regular old chugger. With its fancy paint job and clean tyres, Edward thought he could almost look forward to his transit on this bus. But then he remembered that Bella would be joining him and he imagined that his bus ride would soon become his favourite part of the day.

As they rode towards their respective jobs, Bella commented on things outside the bus that Edward would never have normally noticed. A flowering bush, a skipping toddler and the hint of sun rays shining down through the bus windows.

Edward sat for the most part of the journey in silence and marvelled at his luck. He was glad he hadn't had the balls to buy No. 15; it had led Bella to him. He was glad that he was reading _A Midsummer's Night Dream_ and that she had quoted it back to him. He was glad she had sat next to him on the bus and that he had had the good sense to talk to her.

From just yesterday, Edward could sense a change in himself. Before, he has seen life through a dust covered lens that created murky shadows and blocked out the sun. Bella had cleared his perspective and helped him focus on the good. She had ignited his confidence and strength of character.

For the first time in a long time, Edward felt hope.

"What are you doing for Christmas?" he asked Bella suddenly, interrupting her recitation of a story about her friend, Alice.

"Not much. I was thinking about doing a stock take at work," she replied, curiously. "Why?"

"Will you spend it with me?" he asked eagerly. "I could make you a dinner, buy you a present and we could go for a walk and see the Christmas lights on people's houses..."

Bella smiled a brilliant grin and gave Edward a kiss. She saw the light in his eyes and the hope colouring his voice. She knew her answer had been 'yes' the moment he had asked.

~*~

**Original A/N**: Merry Christmas, Demosthenes91! I had lots of fun twitter-stalking you and checking out your Harry Potter stories :) I hope you like my story; I had a lot of fun writing it! These characters did not want to shut up until their story was told.

This story was initially inspired by the song "Back of My Head" by Australian band, Short Stack. I was listening to it at night and I could just picture the house, Voyeuristicward watching Bella and the snow...

**&+ **I combined the prompts** "**First Christmas, loving under the tree" and "New Year's Eve first kiss" and "Fluff, or even angst if it has a HEA".

Thank you so much to Ginny and Shug for putting on such a fun and interesting exchange. It was my first one and I think I would definitely participate again! There are some really awesome gifts out there and reading, waiting and guessing the authors was a great experience :) I hope you all enjoyed my story and that you check out the rest of the stories (in the new C2) and maybe even participate in the next one! Links for everything gift exchange on my profile and don't forget to review! :)

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**


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